Cape Canaveral
Thursday, 7th April 2005 by
The two shuttle launch sites and hangar at Cape Canaveral are quite recognisable. You can can follow the giant roadway from the hangar to the launch sites but it's only when you zoom right in you realise how big they are.
About the author
This is one of the first things I searched for when I started Google sightseeing. If you zoom back a little, you can see the complex of buildings where the orbiter is processed and stacked, and the runway where it lands. I put an annotated screengrab on my Flickr page if you’d like to take a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimthompson/8761295/
Google Sightseeing
Google Sightseeing is a weblog with links to lots of interesting places in Google Maps. Some of the more interesting sights to see are Las Vegas, the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center, and Area 51 (I can hear the whistling of the X Files theme as I t…
The Space Center looks huge from 15,000 ft (=altitude)! I can’t imagine what its like on the ground, omg! I’m a skydiver and have never seen the building on ground, but from the air it is still huge (if that’s even a word?!?). The run way is as wide as a football field and something like 3 miles long. From altitude, the runway is incredibly massive compared to our dinky (mostly known for skydiving and their airshow) airport in Titusville. Dinky but ooohh so nice.
Just thought I would drop a line about the Space Center and give you an interpretation from a different angle. Best skydiving in FL some might argue 🙂 At least the fastest jump plane, 7-8 minutes to 15,000ft! All skydives go to 15,000ft to give you a great view/little tour of the launch site, etc.
This visitor center is pretty interesting: View Placemark. You can see the Saturn V stack on the left and the Space Shuttle and Boosters on the UR.
Just some updates to this thread: The images are of Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, FL, not Cape Canaveral Air Force Station across the Banana River. Two separate but adjoining facilities. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has a museum of its own that is the home for the first US satellite launch and first manned launch: View Placemark To Brian’s remark: The rocket at the Visitor Complex is the Saturn IB, the Saturn V is enclosed in the building here: View Placemark Jim Thompson did a good job on his annotated map!